


What He Wants Tonight

by Raine_Wynd



Category: Highlander: The Raven
Genre: F/M, Non-Graphic Smut, Post-Quickening, Reunions, Romance, Second Chance, Starting Over
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-28
Updated: 2019-11-28
Packaged: 2021-02-26 05:41:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,369
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21598573
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Raine_Wynd/pseuds/Raine_Wynd
Summary: Amanda opens the door to an old lover and a new beginning.
Relationships: Amanda Darieux/Nick Wolfe, Nick Wolfe/Other(s)
Comments: 18
Kudos: 25
Collections: Highlander Secret Santa (ShortCuts) 2019





	What He Wants Tonight

**Author's Note:**

  * For [celli](https://archiveofourown.org/users/celli/gifts).



> Beta thanks to N.

#### November 2019

Immortal presence rippled across Amanda’s senses a heartbeat before the doorbell rang. Few people knew of the alley entrance to the apartment she kept above Sanctuary, which led her to believe it was likely a friend, but she had made that mistake before. Warily, she rose to her feet from her position on the couch, dropping the tablet she’d been reading, and grabbed her sword as she called out, “Who’s there?”

“The Easter Bunny,” came a voice she hadn’t expected to hear. “Open the door, Amanda, please.”

A check of the peephole revealed that Nick stood on the landing of the stairs that led to the alley. His hair was disheveled, and he held his leather coat with one hand across his stomach. Lightning was stitching up a cut on his cheek. He held onto a small olive-green duffel bag, which had suspiciously dark stains on it.

Shocked, for it had been fifteen years since Nick had been in Paris, Amanda hastily dropped her sword into the umbrella stand by the door. Pulling the door open, she watched as relief shuddered through him.

“What the hell happened to you?” she asked, concerned, as she gestured him inside.

He limped in, favoring his right knee. “Some idiot named Vidar Nilsen who wouldn’t take no for an answer.”

“Oh, Nick,” she said sympathetically as Nick collapsed onto the couch. “Anything I can do for you?”

“Got any whiskey? My knee will be fine in a minute.” He sighed tiredly. “Hell of a welcome back to Paris.”

Amanda shut the door and went to the kitchen to pour Nick some liquor. When she returned, carrying the bottle with her, Nick had stripped off his ripped t-shirt. Faint lightning stitched up places his opponent had struck, revealing the win had been hard fought.

Handing the whiskey over, Amanda said nothing as Nick downed four shots in rapid succession. He shuddered and closed his eyes as the liquor hit his system, then was still for a long moment. Finally, he exhaled slowly and opened his eyes. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome,” Amanda replied. “I take it the fight was a close one?”

Nick sighed. “Only because I kept trying to talk him out of it. He wasn’t interested and thought I was being a coward.” He shook his head and set his glass down on the coffee table. “Next time, I won’t talk so damned much.”

“Not always a good idea,” Amanda agreed. “What are you doing in Paris? I thought you were in Chicago.”

“Couldn’t stay there anymore.”

Amanda met his gaze. With no words, she knew his attempt at loving someone else and having a life away from Paris had failed. “I’m sorry,” she said, meaning it, remembering how eager Nick had been to marry someone else, go back to working a normal job rather than run Sanctuary with her, start a life in Chicago with his new bride. Amanda had thought his new wife was beautiful and someone who needed someone else to help her get through life, which would fill Nick’s need to protect and care for his lover. “What happened?”

“Drunk truck driver slammed into her car. Cathy never had a chance. I looked around at what we had together, and I couldn’t stay in Chicago anymore. Everything reminded me of her there.” He swallowed hard. “Cathy died four months ago. I got a job working for an international insurance company as a corporate security consultant; I start Monday. I thought I’d come by and say hello, have a drink, before I headed to my hotel. Wasn’t expecting to get challenged.”

Amanda studied Nick a moment. From experience, she knew the liquor hadn’t fully desensitized his nerve endings from the Quickening he’d taken. Remembered grief would only make things worse. “Is there something I can to do to help you?”

“Only if you missed me,” he half-joked.

“Never,” she said, but she moved to sit closer and took his hand.

“Liar,” he said, smiling. He bent his head to kiss her hand, then turned it over to lick the palm, never taking his eyes off her as he did so.

She arched an eyebrow at him. “Flattery like that won’t get you into my bed.”

“No, but I won’t write odes to your beauty, either. You never wanted those things from me,” Nick replied, grinning. He slid off the couch and knelt at her feet, looking up at her. His smile faded. “Amanda, I need you. I loved Cathy deeply, but it wasn’t the same way I love you. I’ve missed you, and if nothing else, I could use a hug.”

Her breath caught. She could see him fighting to keep control of what he felt, knew he needed her in a way he didn’t enjoy admitting to needing. He had always fought against his attraction to her, believing that as immortals, they were destined to fight each other. It had made for some epic arguments and passionate sex, until Nick had surrendered to his desire for her. Four years later, when he had told her he wanted to be with someone who wasn’t immortal and who appreciated his desire to protect, Amanda had accepted his decision, hoping that someday, he would be her lover again.

Someday was now. Amanda swallowed, abruptly nervous. Nick was a temptation; fifteen years of distance had not lessened his impact. She took a deep breath as lust pooled in her stomach and quickened her blood. “Then let’s take this somewhere where we can be more comfortable, shall we?”

Nodding, he let her lead him to her bedroom. The years apart had changed them both. He was more unsure, less certain of his place in her bed. She had forgotten how attuned he was to the way she reacted to his touch and how much of a thrill it was to know that about him, to revel in the joy he took in every caress, every lick, and every kiss. It didn’t take them long to remember the passion that had once consumed them, to stoke the old fire back to life so it burned again. Kisses scorched indelible trails of heat, hands echoed need, and their bodies rose and fell in a rhythm that underscored how much they had always known how to turn a simple act into everything they could not say aloud. In its wake, Amanda held Nick close.

“Do you have a place you’re renting?” she asked him, stroking his hair as he lay with his head against her breasts.

“Yes, it’s close to here. I’m meeting the rental agent tomorrow to get the keys.”

“You planned to stay in a hotel tonight?”

Nick rose slightly, a faint grin on his face. “Well, the thought crossed my mind you might not object to me in your bed for one night.” His smile faded. “Unless you’re with someone who doesn’t share.”

“No. I’ve been too busy running the bar,” she admitted. She eyed him, certain he would have researched her availability. “But you knew that already.”

“I might have asked Joe Dawson if you were seeing anyone,” Nick admitted, shrugging. “But I also don’t want to make the same stupid mistakes I did the last time we were together.”

“Neither do I,” Amanda noted quietly. “I don’t want to make promises I can’t keep, Nick. I love you; I’ve missed what we had together.”

Nick kissed her. “Then we’ll talk about rules, expectations, and all that stuff, instead of winging it like we did before, but I’m exhausted and would rather focus on food, recovery, and being with you. We can wait until tomorrow to talk. I love you, too, Amanda. Do you think we could order food? I’m starving and I know you barely cook.”

Amanda chuckled and rose out of bed. “I don’t have room service and I don’t allow deliveries up here, but if you’re willing to get dressed, we can ask my chef if he’ll make something for us.”

“That works.”

It would not be easy, Amanda knew, but she wanted this new phase of her relationship with Nick to last. Tonight was about what he wanted; tomorrow would be soon enough to plan for the future.


End file.
